Profissão Perpétua de [Solemn Vow Profession] Frei Jesus (center left) and Frei Ricardo Elvis (center right). Pictured at center top is Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial ~ the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv., who is flanked by the Very Reverend Fr. Ronaldo Gomes da Silva, OFM Conv. (3rd from right – Custódio Provincial) and Frei Michel da Cruz Alves dos Santos, OFM Conv. (2nd from left – Pastor, Paróquia São Pedro e São Paulo), also pictured are Frei Luis Henrique Nascimento Lima, OFM Conv. (far left – Formador aka Custody’s Prefect of Formation), Frei Alexandre do Carmo Souza, OFM Conv. (2nd from right – Parochial Vicar, Paróquia São Pedro e São Paulo), and Frei Flávio Freitas de Amorim, (far right – Vicar Provincial, São Maximilian Kolbe of Brazil)
August 2, 2021: On the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels, two friars of our Custódia Provincial Imaculada Conceição do Brasil (Immaculate Conception Custody in Brazil), Frei Jesus Rodrigues do Amaral, OFM Conv. and Frei Ricardo Elvis Arruda Bezerra, OFM Conv.
professed their Solemn Vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience,
at the hands of our Minister Provincial,
the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv.,
at Paróquia São Pedro e São Paulo (St. Peter and St. Paul Parish),
in Paraíba do Sul (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
Fr. James (far left), Frei Jesus (center left) and Frei Ricardo Elvis (center right) with the Franciscan Friar Conventual Postulants of Brazil.
Our harvest of warm-season crops is in full swing now! Tomatoes and zucchini and cucumbers (oh my!) are being picked nearly every day. We are also growing a few crops for the first time on the farm, including watermelon, cantaloupe, celery, and bush beans. Despite some stretches of very hot weather, these crops are all doing very well.
Franciscan Feast of Our Lady of the Angels of Portiuncula, Assisi – August 2
Sir 24, 1-4, 16, 22-24; Gal 4:3-7; Lk 1, 26-33. Theme: “God has sent the Spirit of his Son, into our hearts (Gal 4: 6); Subtheme: Wisdom praises herself, and tells of her glory in the midst of her people (Sir 24: 1)
Rebuild My Church:[1] Inspiration, Content and Religious Liberty in the USA
“The Lord gave me such faith in churches that I would simply pray and speak in this way: We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, in all Your churches throughout the world, and we bless You, for through Your holy cross You have redeemed the world” (St. Francis of Assisi, Testament). As a young man discerning what God was asking of him, he took literally a message from Christ to rebuild the Church. He raised funds and rebuilt three Churches including Our Lady of the Angels of Portiuncula which became his favorite place. It was there that he founded the Order of Friars Minor, the Order of Poor Clares, received a papal blessing that visitors for perpetuity could receive the plenary Portiuncula indulgence, and died within fifty yards on the evening of 3 October 1226.
“Wisdom praises herself, and tells of her glory in the midst of her people (Sir 24: 1).“ I am filled with joy to announce the publication of Rebuild My Church on August 2, the feast. RMC summarizes the contributions of an extraordinarily faithful follower of St. Francis’ Rule of 1223 and his Testament. As St. Francis passed over into God in a transport of contemplation, he invites every spiritual person into this passing over and transport of soul.[2] Rebuild My Church is a tribute to Friar Peter Damian Fehlner, O.F.M.Conv. (1931-2018), his life, thought and original insight into the commonalities in the works of St. Bonaventure (d. 1274), Bl. John Duns Scotus (d. 1308) and St. John Henry Newman (d. 1890).[3]
Fr. Fehlner read the six original chapters and said: ”You have represented the development of my entire life’s thought correctly.” In May 2017, I defended these six chapters and my doctoral committee at Notre Dame gave their approval. Advised to put it down for a while, I continued to expand my appreciation for Fr. Fehlner’s thought faithfully in the book now called Rebuild My Church.
Questions from scholars and conversations with Fr. Fehlner’s closest acquaintances were the prompt to expand the prologue and introduction, to include the Protestant Reformation and resulting changes in the cultural atmosphere, not unlike the cultural polarization of the twenty-first century, the continuity of principles from Bonaventure to Duns Scotus, Vatican II, Charles Taylor’s two-band theory of modernity, and the Franciscan Marian principle as all-inclusive. Chapters 1 and 2 narrate Fr. Fehlner’s life with candor and loyalty. Chapter 1 navigates the twilight of modernity; chapter 2, Fr. Fehlner’s middle voice. Chapters 3 and 4 explain his appropriation of Bonaventure. Chapter 4 is on the Trinity and the Franciscan School today. Chapters 5 and 6 clarify key concepts of the influence of Duns Scotus; chapter 6, Duns Scotus’ Marian principle. Chapter 7 narrates the original discovery of the relationship of Duns Scotus to John Henry Newman. Chapter 8 engages modernity with Newman’s Christology and Mariology. Chapter 9 is Fr. Fehlner’s theological response to the event – “Rebuild My Church,” an escape from the Hegelian web, engaging Heidegger and the doubleness of the gift of modernity. Chapter 10 is why Fr. Fehlner matters, why his theology is prophetic, apocalyptic and aesthetic, his retrieval of the all but disabled Scotistic tradition, diagnoses of forgetting that is sanctioned by the Holy Spirit, remembering deeply and broadly, his new “eyes’ on Duns Scotus’ and Newman’s system of truths.
The feast of Our Lady of the Angels of Portiuncula is fitting to publish Rebuild My Church as a companion volume to Theologian of Auschwitz.[4] Eric and Linda Wolf of Lectio Publishing deserve a shout out for recognizing Fr. Fehlner’s genius in explaining with genial clarity why Fr. Kolbe is a Scotist. In his Testament, St. Francis may surprise some who think he was anti-study: “We should honor and respect all theologians and those who minister the most holy divine words as those who minister spirit and life to us” (Jn 6:64).
Sirach is concise: “Wisdom praises herself, and tells of her glory in the midst of her people” (Sir 24). By reading Sirach and St. Francis’ Testament, his faith in churches, faith in priests who live according to the manner of the holy Roman Church, the holy mysteries of the Most Holy Body and Blood which they receive and which they alone minister to others, and theologians who minister the most holy divine words radiate the Franciscan charism in America when religious liberty is under assault, our entire constitutional order of democratic debate is under challenge and “cancel culture” is powerful and increasingly relentless. Compare the malignment of Duns Scotus with problems in a non-faith context. The unforgiveable offenses in modern thinking: “racist, sexist, anti-gay” are indictments even from thought provoking books that are well documented. To critics, they espouse the wrong ideas.[5] Fr. Fehlner teaches how to use Fr. Kolbe’s Scotistic method in critical engagement with modernity.
The Scotus-Newman connection fills ten chapters of Rebuild My Church. The prologue and introduction prepare the reader to avoid the historical indictment that Duns Scotus was espousing the wrong ideas. Some scholars dismiss Scotistic thought as torturous, while Fr. Fehlner’s incorporation of Scotistic method demonstrates why he concluded that there was a connection between the University of Oxford’s theologians, Bl. Duns Scotus and St. John Henry Newman. To critics, it seemed beyond the pale to think that linking them might have a significant bearing on the future of Catholic theology.
I incorporated insights from many who knew Fr. Fehlner and more than fifty years of heart-to-heart conversations. Rebuild My Church is an accurate portrayal of his critical engagement in a faith context with our post-Christian culture. One may compare his faith context to a non-faith context as Ken Starr’s who shines a bright spotlight on the autonomy principle at the heart of religious liberty in America. An extra layer of constitutional protection exists for all faith communities. Both faith and non-faith contexts have long lists of external reasons that contribute to a post-religious and a post-Christian culture. The non-faith contexts compare to the temporization of Church authorities in the face of the secular invasion, inviting ideas into the Church communities without the competence of leaders to guide them Christianly. These engender collective complicity in creating a post-Christian culture.[6]
Religious freedom; freedom of speech; freedom of the press; and freedom of assembly are under steady erosion of our nation’s commitment. Yet, “God has sent the Spirit of his Son, into our hearts; “You are no longer a slave, but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.” (Gal 4, 6, 7).
Delivered at The Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore by Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, O.F.M.Conv.
eondrako@alumni.nd.edu
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[1] E. J. Ondrako, Rebuild My Church: Peter Damian Fehlner’s Appropriation and Development of the Ecclesiology and Mariology of Vatican II (Hobe Sound, FL: Lectio Publishing, LLC, 2021). ISBN 978-1-943901-18-0. www.lectiopublishing.com. Contact Eric and Linda Wolf, publishers.
[2] St. Bonaventure, Itinerarium Mentis in Deum; The Journey of the Mind to God, chapter 7, 3.
[3] E. J. Ondrako, The Newman-Scotus Reader (New Bedford, MA; Academy of the Immaculate, 2016, canonization issue, 2019), chapter 7, 239-389. A concise chart comparing Bonaventure, Duns Scotus and Newman is on 244.
[4] P. D. Fehlner, Theologian of Auschwitz (Hobe Sound, FL: Lectio Publishing, LLC, 2020).
[5] Ken Starr, Religious Liberty in Crisis (New York: Encounter Books, 2021), 169-170.
[6] This aphorism from Cyril O’Regan, my mentor at Notre Dame, interlocks his inclusive thought with Fr. Fehlner’s.
Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, OFM Conventual
Research Fellow Pontifical Faculty of St. Bonaventure, Rome
Visiting Scholar, McGrath Institute for Church Life
University of Notre Dame
August 2, 2021
2016 marked the 800th Anniversary of the August 2nd Portiuncula Indulgence. You will notice that our province logo incorporates the Portiuncula graphic. This is because the Portiuncula (the small chapel of St. Mary of the Angels nicknamed “Little Portion” by St. Francis of Assisi) is located within Assisi’s Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Franciscans around the world celebrate August 2nd as the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Angels but we friars who are members of a province named in her honor, hold the day in special regard.
All over the world August 2nd is celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels. For our province friars, it holds especially dear as it is also our Patronal Feast Day. There will be many opportunities to join our friars for live and virtual celebrations throughout the twenty-one Diocese in which the friars of our province live and minister. We encourage all to find a ministry location nearest to you, to join with us in celebrating Our Lady.
Visit our ministry locations page for links to our various ministries’ websites.
In the words of our Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv.: “May Our Lady intercede for each friar,
for all of our fraternal communities,
and for all of the people whom it is our humble privilege to serve
in the various ministries where we are engaged.”
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More on the Feast Day and Il Perdono (the Portiuncula Indulgence): The small chapel of St. Mary of the Angels (Our Lady of the Angels) was very dear to St. Francis of Assisi. He referred to it as the Portiucula (aka “Little Portion” and pictured at right) and it is considered the cradle of the Franciscan Order. In 1209, as the quarters of Rivo Torto became too small for the newly forming Religious Order, St. Francis obtained from the Benedictines the use of the Portiuncula, for which he paid a basket of fish. The chapel and the surrounding small parcel of land were is disrepair. Just as he had done at San Damiano, St. Francis rebuilt the chapel, adding small huts (cells) and enclosing it all in a protective hedge. It was there that St. Francis gained a more vivid understanding of his own vocation. He held the annual meetings of the friars (Chapters) there and it is where he desired to spend his final earthly moments; dying in his nearby cell October 3, 1226.
St. Francis felt that the Portiuncula was a place filled with God’s grace. In 1216, at the request of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Honorius granted special privilege (plenary indulgence – a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins) to all those who would visit the little chapel.
Although limited to include from noon on August 1st to midnight on August 2nd, the privilege continues to be granted to this day; not only to those who visit the Portiuncula, but to anyone who visits any church where Franciscan Friars live and minister. To receive this privilege (for yourself or for someone else – living or deceased), in addition to the visit, one must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation within several weeks of the Feast Day, go to Mass and receive the Eucharist, recite the Our Father and Apostles Creed, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.
The beautiful Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (below) that now surrounds the Portiuncula chapel was begun in 1569 (completed in 1684) by decree of Pius V. It was meant to accommodate the huge crowds of pilgrims who came on August 2nd for Il Perdono (Portiuncula Indulgence). This is an important feast day for all Franciscans and is celebrated in Franciscan churches throughout the world.
After the Profession Liturgy, Friar Tim, Friar Franck and Friar Rich take a group photo with the Choeur de Marie Reine du Monde, of Saint Camillus Catholic Church, Silver Spring, MD & Fr. James.
July 30, 2021: Three of our province friars professed their solemn vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, in the presence of many of their confreres, family, and friends. Others were afforded the opportunity to virtually join in the celebration of Friar Timothy Blanchard, OFM Conv., Friar Franck Sokpolie, OFM Conv., and Friar Richard Rome, OFM Conv., as the Solemn Vow Liturgy was livestreamed at 11:00 a.m., from Saint Louis Church, in Clarksville, MD. Br. Tim is a friar brother who has been assigned to work in communications for our Athol Springs, NY ministry of St. Francis High School, beginning in the 2021-2022 academic yearFriar Franck and Friar Rich will continue their studies to be ordained as friar priests. More photos are posted on our Province Facebook Page.
After the Litany of the Saints, and while those to be professed still lay prostrate in front of the altar, Friar James prayed over them.
“Almighty, Eternal, Just and Merciful God, Grant to our brothers the Grace to do for Your sake what they know to be Your Will, and ever to will what is pleasing to You…“
Friar Richard Martin Rome, OFM Conv.
witnessed by
Fr. Martin Kobos, OFM Conv. and Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv.
Friar Timothy John Blanchard, OFM Conv.
witnessed by
Br. Jim Moore, OFM Conv. and Fr. Eric de la Pena, OFM Conv.
Friar Franck Lino Sokpolie, OFM Conv.
witnessed by
Fr. Eric de la Pena, OFM Conv. and Fr. Emanuel Vasconcelos, OFM Conv.
Altar Servers:
br. Cristofer M. Fernández, OFM Conv.
friar Antonio Moualeu, OFM Conv.
friar Raad Eshoo, OFM Conv.
friar Michael Boes, OFM Conv.
friar Edgar Varela, OFM Conv.
friar Jonathan García Zenteno, OFM Conv.
friar Sebastian De Backer, OFM Conv.
friar Joseph Krondon, OFM Conv.
Choir:
Choeur de Marie Reine du Monde,
of Saint Camillus Catholic Church, Silver Spring, MD
Master of Ceremonies:
Fr. Brad Milunski, OFM Conv.
Lectors:
First Reading – Mr. Kenneth Rome, father of Friar Richard
Second Reading – Fr. Santo Cricchio OFM Conv.
Intercessions – Mr. Richard Blanchard, father of Friar Timothy
A reflective moment captured by Fr. Gerry Waterman, OFM Conv.
Fr. Emanuel Vasconcelos, OFM Conv. and Fr. Maximilian Avila, OFM Conv.
Friar Jonathan García Zenteno, OFM Conv.
witnessed by
Fr. Richard-Jacob Forcier, OFM Conv. and Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv.
Friar Sebastian De Backer, OFM Conv.
witnessed by
Fr. Richard-Jacob Forcier, OFM Conv. and Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv.
Gathering for the Noon Mass celebration, in our Chapel of The Shrine of St. Anthony, in Ellicott City, MD, were friars from all over our province, as well as several of other provinces, family members, friends, and shrine pilgrims.
It was a day of fraternal joy, virtually shared in a Livestream via our Companions of St. Anthony ministry’s Facebook page:
Rite of Simple Profession
CALLING
After the gospel the celebrant and people are seated. The Prefect of Formation calls by name the friars to be professed.
They answer: Present.
Celebrant: My dear brothers, what do you ask of the Lord and of his holy Church?
Friars to be professed: The mercy of the Lord and the grace to serve Him more faithfully in the fraternity of the Order of the Friars Minor Conventual. All: Thanks be to God
HOMILY
EXAMINATION After the homily, the friars to be professed stand and the celebrant questions them:
Celebrant: My dear brothers, you have already been consecrated to the Lord and have died to sin through Baptism. Do you wish to be more closely united to Him through the new and special title of religious profession in our Seraphic Order?
Friars: I do.
Celebrant: Do you wish to love God with all your heart in chastity, to embrace the most high poverty of our Lord Jesus Christ and His poor mother, to live in the obedience of the Son of God who place His own will into the Father’s hands, that you may follow his footprints in all things after the example of St. Francis?
Friars: I do.
Celebrant: (Acknowledging their decision the celebrant responds in these or similar words) May almighty God grant you this by His grace.
All: Amen
Celebrant: May God who has begun this good work in you bring it to fulfillment before the day of Christ Jesus.
All: Amen
Celebrant: Let us pray. [All pray for a short time in silence.]
Celebrant: Lord, look upon these men your servants who today are making their profession before the Church. In their desire to imitate your poor and crucified Son, Jesus Christ, after the example of Saint Francis, they desire to offer You their lives by following the evangelical counsels. Pour into their hearts the Spirit of your love, that they may serve you eagerly and love you sincerely. By the steadfast fulfillment and faithful observance of their vows may they advance with perfect joy along the way of love. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen
PROFESSION When he has finished the prayer, the minister is seated. Two professed friars come forward and stand nearby to assist as witnesses. Each candidate presents himself to the minister by placing their hands in his and reads the formula of profession, which they have previously written in their own hand. Since for the glory of God the Lord has given me this grace of living more perfectly and with firm will the gospel of Jesus Christ I, Friar ____________ in the presence of the assembled Friars, and into your hands, Friar James McCurry, vow for three years to live in obedience, without anything of my own, and in chastity, according to the Rule of St. Francis confirmed by Pope Honorius III and the Constitutions of the Friars Minor Conventual. Therefore, with all my heart I give myself to this brotherhood, that through the work of the Holy Spirit, the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, our Father Francis, and all the saints, and with the help of my brothers, I may fulfill my consecration to the service of God and of the Church.
Celebrant: I, in the name of the Church and our brotherhood receive your vows. And on the part of Almighty God, if you observe them, I promise you life everlasting. Receive, Michael, Edgar, Jonathan, Sebastian, the Rule of our Order, which is the book of life, a marrow of the Gospel, the way that leads to perfection, and to paradise and the pledge of an eternal covenant. By observing it faithfully may you attain the perfection of charity.
The newly professed, the witnesses and the celebrant go to the altar and sign the book of profession.
Two witnesses assist in placing the knotted cord around the waist of the newly professed.
Hymn while placing of the knotted cord – O Patriarcha O Patriarcha pauperum, Francisce,
tuis precibus auge tuorum numerum
in caritate Christi,
quos cancellatis (quos cancellatis) manibus caecutiens,
ut moriens Jacob, benedixisti.
Fr. Aidan is a friar of our Blessed Angellus of Pisa Custody.
This month, he celebrated his Golden Jubilee – 50th Ordination Anniversary.
Take a few moments to listen about his life, including his vocation story.
Watch through the end for a special blessing.
For more information on becoming a Franciscan Friar Conventual of our province,
contact Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. at vocations@olaprovince.org.
This week, our province will joyfully celebrate the Simple Profession of Vows of four of our friars, as we gather at our Chapel at The Shrine of St. Anthony, in Ellicott City, MD. Over the past year, friar Michael Boes, OFM Conv., friar Edgar Varela, OFM Conv., friar Jonathan García Zenteno, OFM Conv., and friar Bram (taking the name Sebastian) De Backer, OFM Conv. spent a “year and a day” as Our Lady of the Angels Province Novices, in the Franciscan Friars Conventual Inter-Province Novitiate, in Arroyo Grande, CA, along with two other friars of other provinces.
On Thursday, July 29, 2021, they will profess their first vows of poverty, chastity and obedience before moving on to continue their studies at The Catholic University of America, living in community with other student friars and their formators, in Silver Spring, MD.
Keep them and their vocation journey in your continued prayers.
Friar Michael Boes, OFM Conv. is from Scotch Plains, NJ. After high school, he enrolled at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, a Benedictine foundation whose members were inspiring enough for him to join the Order after graduation. He loved the life, but took some time away from the monks while discerning a desire for a more active life. Michael has always had a service-oriented personality. Before joining the friars he trained as a Medical Technician and a Personal Care Assistant. He also worked as an assistant teacher in a number of settings, but mostly enjoyed his time working with special need and autistic children.
Friar Edgar Varela, OFM Conv. is from Phoenix, AZ. He met the Conventual friars while he was a Carmelite studying at Loyola University in Chicago, and again at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Some years after leaving the Carmelites, his continued desire for religious life inspired him to reach out to the Conventual Franciscans since he had been impressed by the fraternity they witnessed from his time together with them in school. In his free time, Edgar enjoys hiking, listening to music, playing volleyball, and experimenting with cooking and baking.
Friar Jonathan Garcia Zenteno, OFM Conv. is from Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacan, Chiapas, Mexico. He had been a Conventual friar in his home country for a number of years. After he left the community, he worked in a state office as an archivist and researcher. He also taught some classes on Franciscan history to the Poor Clares in his home town. Ingrained with the ideals of service – especially through his family’s foundation of assisting the poor with healthcare – Jonathan felt a strong desire to return to religious life. He petitioned to return to the Conventuals in the U.S., a new home country.
Friar Bram De Backer, OFM Conv. is from Zottegem, Belgium. He received a degree in theology from the Katholieke Universiteit in Louvain. Always having a great interest in mental health issues, Bram worked as a caregiver for adults with severe learning disabilities. He also ministered as a lay chaplain at a psychiatric hospital, and then served as a lay missionary in Cambodia, again working with physically disabled youth. Having discerned religious life for a number of years, he discovered the Conventuals on the Web, immediately felt attracted to their way of living out the Franciscan charism. Friar Bram will be taking a new Religious name. As of his Simple Vow Profession, he will become Friar Sebastian De Backer, OFM Conv.
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For more information on life as a Franciscan Friar Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province, check out our Vocation Page and Franciscan Voice.
On Wednesday, July 21, at 11:30 a.m. in Buffalo, New York’s Niagara Square, the Most Reverend Michael W. Fisher, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, hosted a prayer gathering for the community, in response to a high level of violence in the City of Buffalo and Western New York. Our Lady of the Angels Province friars, Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv. (left) and Fr. Max Avila, OFM Conv. (right) were among those present, which included government officials and representatives of New York Pastors for Life, Buffalo Peacemakers, PeacePrints of WNY, Stop the Violence Coalition, as well as other members of area faith communities and concerned citizens. They all gathered to pray for peace and an end to the violence threatening their community. Both of these friars as assigned at our St. Francis High School, in Athol Springs, where we have six friars of our province serving in varied capacities. Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv. will begin the new 2021-2022 school year as Principal and Fr. Maximilian Avila, OFM Conv. has served as an instructor there since August 2018.
Congratulations!
More photos can be found on the 
On Wednesday, July 21, at 11:30 a.m. in Buffalo, New York’s Niagara Square, the Most Reverend Michael W. Fisher, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, hosted a prayer gathering for the community, in response to a high level of violence in the City of Buffalo and Western New York. Our Lady of the Angels Province friars, Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv. (left) and Fr. Max Avila, OFM Conv. (right) were among those present, which included government officials and representatives of New York Pastors for Life, Buffalo Peacemakers, PeacePrints of WNY, Stop the Violence Coalition, as well as other members of area faith communities and concerned citizens. They all gathered to pray for peace and an end to the violence threatening their community. Both of these friars as assigned at our 
